Alan Alda - Biography - IMDb Alan Alda Biography Showing all 87 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (5) | Trivia (63) | Personal Quotes (13) | Salary (1) Overview (3) 6' 2" (1.88 m) Mini Bio (1) Alan Alda was born on January 28, 1936 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA as Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo. He is known for his work on M*A*S*H (1972), The Aviator (2004) and What Women Want (2000). He has been married to Arlene Alda since March 15, 1957. They have three children.

Spouse (1) ( 15 March 1957 - present) (3 children) Trade Mark (5) Often plays ambitious authority figures that are corrupt and unethical New York Accent His films often reflect his liberal political views The role of Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972). Thick, nasally voice. Trivia (63) He did not sign on to play Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) until 6 hours before filming began on the pilot episode. He commuted from his home in New Jersey to LA every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H (1972). His wife and daughters lived in NJ, and he did not want to uproot the family to LA, especially because he did not know how long the show would last. Son of Robert Alda and Joan Brown, a former Miss New York pageant winner. He, father Robert Alda and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in an episode of M*A*S*H (1972), "Lend a Hand", during Season 8.

Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in Season 3. Alda almost turned down the role of Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) because he did not want war to be a "backdrop for lighthearted hijinks... "I wanted to show that the war was a bad place to be.". Suffered from a severe case of polio as a young child. At its worst point he was only able to move his left arm. He received treatment originally developed by Australian polio expert, nurse Sister Kenny , subject of the movie Sister Kenny (1946). Alan and his wife Arlene Alda have three daughters: Eve (born on December 12, 1958), Elizabeth Alda (born on August 20, 1960) and Beatrice Alda (born on August 10, 1961). 1975 People's Choice Award: Favourite Male TV-Performer Studied at Fordham University in New York Earned a reported $200,000 a week for M*A*S*H (1972) in 1980.

"If you work very, very hard, this is the kind of actor, writer, and director you may turn out to be. And if you work extra hard, this is the kind of person you may turn out to be." - James Lipton , to students at New School University, where Alda gave an interview. To show the horrors of war in a television sit-com, Alda had it written into his contract that one scene of every episode must take place in the operating room while surgery occured. Is the first person ever to win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing. (He accomplished wins in all three categories for his work on M*A*S*H (1972) before the ending of the series). Studied at the Sorbonne during his junior year of college. Served in the U. S. Army, and he went AWOL every weekend because he was dating the woman that he ultimately married, Arlene Alda . He was once selected as the most believable actor in the U. S. Once did a cartwheel down the aisle while on his way to accept an award that he had just won.

Earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University (New York City, USA) in 1956. Attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, NY. Was one of the actors considered to play President Bartlett on The West Wing (1999). Alda later landed the role of Sen. Arnold Vinick in 2004 on that series. On October 19, 2003 he underwent emergency surgery while in La Serena, Chile to clear an intestinal obstruction. Has succeeded Donald Sutherland in two roles: Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H (1972), and Flan in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). He played the latter part in an Audio Books recording. During an appearance both made at a ceremony/dinner for Queen Elizabeth II , the two happened to be standing in the reception line next to each other. As they waited for the Queen to make her way down the line, Alda whispered to Sutherland, "Thank you for my life.". He was the only actor to appear in every episode of M*A*S*H (1972). Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L.

Smith; pg. 7-8. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 With the exception of taking a course in Theater Games, he's never studied acting. His degree from Fordham University is in Science. He felt that he was a natural performer and that studying would ruin his gift for being natural. His favorite curse word is "horse". It stems from an outburst he once had on a set, where he went through every obscenity he could think of, then unable to come up with anymore, he loudly yelled "Horse!" According to Alda, it has since become his favorite curse. Additionally, the character of Colonel Potter ( Harry Morgan ) on M*A*S*H (1972) used similar language for his version of cursing, using, often yelling, "Horse Hockey!" or "Cow Pucky!" or "Buffalo Cookies!", each referring to solidified animal droppings instead of stronger language. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry.

Has been nominated three times for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1967, as best actor-musical for The Apple Tree, in 1992, as best actor-play for Jake's Women and in 2005 as best performance by a featured actor-play for Glengarry Glen Ross. He has twice played characters from Maine, from opposite ends of the ethical spectrum. In M*A*S*H (1972) he was noble surgeon Hawkeye Pierce, whose hometown was Crabapple Cove. In The Aviator (2004) he played corrupt U.S. Sen. Owen Brewster , nemesis of Howard Hughes . The author of the original "M*A*S*H" books, Maine doctor Richard Hornberger (writing as Richard Hooker ), based the Pierce character on himself but was said to dislike the TV version of his story as overly moralistic. As for Sen. Brewster, whose smarmy hypocrisy was well-depicted by Alda, he was booted out of the Senate by Maine voters in the next Republican primary. Briefly considered a run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in New Jersey after Bill Bradley announced his retirement in 1995.

Has the distinction of playing three U.S. Senators--Sen. Joe Tynan in The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), real-life Sen. Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004) and Sen. Arnold Vinick in The West Wing (1999) . Furthermore, he received an Oscar nomination for his performance in The Aviator (2004). He and Loretta Swit were the only two to appear in both the pilot episode of M*A*S*H (1972) and in the final show (with the exception of the opening credits, where Gary Burghoff 's character Radar appears, albeit edited after his departure from the show, and Jamie Farr , who provides the voice of the PA announcer in the pilot episode). Was the commencement speaker at Caltech's 108th commencement in June 2002. Born 5:07 AM.

Richard Hooker , who wrote the novel on which the film (M*A*S*H (1970)) and TV show ( M*A*S*H (1972)) were based, did not like the TV series and in particular did not like Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce. Was the commencement speaker at the Dwight-Englewood High School Commencement in June 1978 in Englewood, NJ, when his daughter Elizabeth Alda graduated. Despite being an active Democrat, he has recently played two Republican senators in TV and film--the fictitious Arnold Vinick in The West Wing (1999) (which garnered him an Emmy win) and the real-life Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination). In 2005 he became the fifth actor to receive an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination in the same calendar year (for The Aviator (2004), The West Wing (1999) and Glengarry Glen Ross, respectively).

Nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for "Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself" [Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)]. Before his 2003 emergency surgery in Chile, the surgeon tried to explain the procedure he was about to perform in layman's terms. Alda confidently asserted that the operation is called an end-to-end anastomosis. The stunned surgeon asked how he knew that. Alda replied that he had done the procedure numerous times on M*A*S*H (1972). Best known by the public for his starring role as Chief of Surgery - Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972). Once played the role of "Sky Masterson" in "Guys and Dolls," the role first played in the original Broadway production by his father, Robert Alda . Out of his seven grandchildren, two are interested in pursuing careers in acting; his oldest granddaughter, 17 and his oldest grandson, 16. Was considered for the role of Ross Webster in Superman III (1983). Robert Vaughn was cast instead.

Friends with: Shirley Jones , Robert Alda , Harry Morgan , Loretta Swit , McLean Stevenson , Wayne Rogers , Mike Farrell , Larry Gebhardt , Gene Reynolds , David Ogden Stiers , Jamie Farr , Carol Burnett , Marlo Thomas , Faye Dunaway , Lynne Thigpen , Woody Allen , Michael Caine , Lily Tomlin , Samuel L. Jackson , Paul Rudd , Noah Wyle , Sandy Dennis , Alex Karras , Jane Fonda . He married his wife Arlene in 1958, shortly after finishing his army training. Made his first appearance onstage in 1936 at the age of six months during a burlesque schoolroom sketch that his father was headlining. In 1958, he won a three-year Ford Foundation fellowship, making him a paid staff member of the Cleveland Playhouse. Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide 11 times. His parents Robert Alda and Joan Brown were married in 1932. He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2013 for his services to arts and entertainment. Childhood friend of Carol Burnett . He is most widely known to be a very private man.

Alongside Norman Lloyd , William Daniels , Christopher Lee , Dick Van Dyke , Ernest Borgnine , Mickey Rooney , Betty White , Angela Lansbury , Adam West , Edward Asner , William Shatner , Marla Gibbs , Larry Hagman , Florence Henderson and Shirley Jones , Alda is one of the few actors in Hollywood who lived into their 80s and/or 90s without ever either retiring from acting or having stopped getting work. Was considered for the role of Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist (1973). Was considered for the role of President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing (1999). He did have a recurring role as Senator Arnold Vinick. Was considered for the role of Joe Gideon, protagonist in All That Jazz (1979), that was ultimately played by 'Roy Scheider'. He was originally cast as Billy Minsky in The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), but was unable to leave his role on Broadway in "The Apple Tree," and had to be replaced by Jason Robards .

From 1980 to 1983, he won four consecutive Golden Globes in the Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical category for his work in M*A*S*H (1972). He was awarded the 1993 Drama Logue Award for Performance in "Jake's Women" in presented by the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson at the James A. Doolittle (University of California) Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Personal Quotes (13) [on the popularity of M*A*S*H (1972)] I hear from people who watch six and seven times a day. It scares me. Listening is being able to be changed by the other person. Republicans are as capable of coming up with great ideas and moving this country along as anyone - they just don't do it. What I can't completely understand is most other people's fascination with what the famous among us do with their lips and the rest of their bodies. Why do ordinary people become the target of this curiosity simply by virtue of the fact that other people recognize their names and faces but know nothing else about them? Why do we care what they think, what they wear, what they eat?

[from an interview in "Ms." magazine] I used to be a Catholic. I left because I object to conversion by concussion. If you don't agree with what they teach, you get clobbered over the head until you do. All that does is change the shape of the head. We're lucky that we don't have anybody there just trying to collect the money. There's plenty of money to be had and you can get the same amount by doing junk every week. By just showing up. But you also lose your soul. What's the pleasure in losing your self-esteem, your dignity? It's too bad I'm not as wonderful a person as people say I am, because the world could use a few people like that. Begin challenging your assumptions. Your assumptions are the windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile or the light won't come in. [on the death of Harry Morgan ] We had just a wonderful time reminiscing. That was the last time I saw Harry. [on his chances of winning Best Supporting Actor for The Aviator (2004)] It'll go to Morgan Freeman . No doubt in my mind. If I could become nearly as versatile as Dad, I would be completely happy.

An actor cannot be too one-sided or only half-experienced in these days when he is called upon to double in TV, legit stage plays and movies. He must be able to act anything from stylish farce to low comedy, 'Oedipus Rex' to Shakespeare and modern drama. [acknowledging the assistance of veteran actor Howard Da Silva ] (He's) a wonderfully talented actor and director who is helping me immensely by coaching me in a wide variety of good parts. Asking a director if he does his own editing is like asking a writer if he does his own punctuation. Salary (1) Alan Alda | The Blacklist Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Age 78 Alan Alda is an award winning American film and TV actor, director, and writer. He plays Alan Fitch in NBC's The Blacklist . Early Life Edit He was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo on January 28 1936 in New York City. He attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.

In 1956, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Fordham College of Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, During Alda's young junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam. In college, he was a member of the ROTC, and after graduation, he served for a year at Fort Benning, and then six months in the U.S. Army Reserve. Career Edit His most famous role was Hawkeye Pierce, a surgeon in a MASH hospital during the Korean War , in the TV series M*A*S*H, an adaptation of the film of the same name . The show ran for 11 years and Alda appeared in all 251 episodes. His role as Hawkeye Pierce earned him six Emmy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. After M*A*S*H, Alda used his fame to speak on political issues and bring major support to movements such as women's rights and the feminist movement, describing himself as a liberal and progressive activist.

In acting, Alda appeared frequently alongside Woody Allen in multiple films, guest starred on ER, starred in the political satire film Canadian Bacon and appearing as a regular cast member on The West Wing, where he played Republican US Senator Arnold Vinick. He also co-starred alongside Leonardo di Caprio in The Aviator. Throughout his career, Alda has been nominated 31 times for Emmy Awards, twice for a Tony Award an once for an Academy Award. He has won six Emmy Awards, six Golden Globes, seven People's Choice Awards, three Directors Guild of America awards, a Drama Desk Award and has been inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. The Blacklist Cast and Crew (Season 1) Alan Alda - TV Celebrities - ShareTV [Complete List] BIOGRAPHY: As a boy, Alan Alda suffered through polio, developing his sense of humor while bedridden, watching his eccentric family's antics. As a young man he started in comedy with Chicago's Second City troupe, and his first big break came with the Americanized version of the British skit show That Was the Week That Was, in 1964, with David Frost and Buck Henry.

During his stint in the Army, shortly after the Korean war, Alda served as a gunnery officer in Korea. M*A*S*H, of course, was set during the Korean war. As Dr Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H, Alda brought the series a perfect balance of wiseass and gravitas. As the series continued its long run, Alda gained more power behind the scenes, and some critics complained that the series delivered more political statements than laughs in its latter seasons. Over its eleven seasons, M*A*S*H earned numerous Emmy awards, and Alda earned five -- three for acting, one for writing, and one for directing. He is the only artist to win Emmys in all three of these categories. He wrote 20 and directed 32 episodes of M*A*S*H. Alda has written or directed five feature films, of which the best reviewed was The Seduction of Joe Tynan with Meryl Streep. Playing perfectly off his M*A*S*H role, Alda played a self-obsessed and none-too-funny TV sitcom star in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors.

He was the longtime host of Scientific American Frontiers on PBS, and in the last season of TV's The West Wing, Alda played a moderate Republican running for President. TRIVIA: Before his 2003 emergency surgery in Chile, the surgeon tried to explain the procedure he was about to perform in layman's terms. Alda confidently asserted that the operation is called an end-to-end anastomosis. The stunned surgeon asked how he knew that. Alda replied that he had done the procedure numerous times on _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv). Was the commencement speaker at the Dwight-Englewood High School Commencement in June 1978 in Englewood, NJ, when his daughter 'Elizabeth Alda' (qv) graduated. Best known by the public for his starring role as Chief of Surgery - Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv). Once did a cartwheel down the aisle while on his way to accept an award that he had just won.

Studied at Fordham University in New York Has succeeded 'Donald Sutherland (I)' (qv) in two roles: Hawkeye Pierce in _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv), and Flan in _Six Degrees of Separation (1993)_ (qv). He played the latter part in an Audio Books recording. During an appearance both made at a ceremony/dinner for 'Queen Elizabeth II' (qv), the two happened to be standing in the reception line next to each other. As they waited for the Queen to make her way down the line, Alda whispered to Sutherland, "Thank you for my life.". Alda almost turned down the role of Hawkeye Pierce on _"M*A*S*H" (1972)_ (qv) because he did not want war to be a "backdrop for lighthearted high jinks... I wanted to show that the war was a bad place to be." With the exception of taking a course in Theater Games, he's never studied acting. His degree from Fordham University is in Science. He felt that he was a natural performer and that studying would ruin his gift for being natural.

Related sites for this celeb Alan Alda - IMDb IMDb Actor | Miscellaneous Crew | Soundtrack Alan Alda was born on January 28, 1936 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA as Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo. He is known for his work on M*A*S*H (1972), The Aviator (2004) and What Women Want (2000). He has been married to Arlene Alda since March 15, 1957. They have three children. See full bio » Born: a list of 35 people created 21 Sep 2014 a list of 31 people created 04 Dec 2014 a list of 24 people created 16 Mar 2015 a list of 33 people created 4 months ago a list of 29 people created 1 month ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Alan Alda's work have you seen? User Polls Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 38 wins & 60 nominations.

See more awards » Known For M*A*S*H Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce / Capt. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce (1972-1983) The Aviator Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (2004) Bridge of Spies Thomas Watters Jr. (2015) 2016 Broad City (TV Series) Dr. Jay Heller 2013-2014 The Blacklist (TV Series) Alan Fitch 2001 The Killing Yard (TV Movie) Ernie Goodman 2001 Club Land (TV Movie) Willie Walters 1996 Jake's Women (TV Movie) Jake 1994 White Mile (TV Movie) Dan Cutler 1984 The Four Seasons (TV Series) Jack Burroughs 1973 Isn't It Shocking?

(TV Movie) Dan 1972 Class of '55 (TV Movie) Peter 1972 The Glass House (TV Movie) Jonathon Paige 1967 Coronet Blue (TV Series) Clay Breznia 1966 Where's Everett (TV Movie) Arnold Barker 1963 East Side/West Side (TV Series) Freddie Wilcox 1963 Route 66 (TV Series) Dr. Glazer 1962 Naked City (TV Series) Young Poet 1974 Free to Be... You & Me (TV Movie) (voice director: puppet and animation) Hide 1996 Everyone Says I Love You (performer: "I'm Thru With Love" (1931), "Looking at You" (1929)) M*A*S*H (TV Series) (2 episodes, 1974 - 1977) (performer - 55 episodes, 1972 - 1982) - Hey, Look Me Over (1982) ...

(performer: "Unforgettable", "Hey Good Lookin'") - Picture This (1982) ... (performer: "Me And My Shadow" - uncredited) - Snappier Judgment (1981) ... (performer: " (I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China") 1974 6 Rms Riv Vu (TV Movie) (performer: "You Are Love" (fragment)) Hide 1986 Sweet Liberty (written by) The Four Seasons (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes, 1984) (teleplay - 1 episode, 1984) - The Loan (1984) ... (teleplay) M*A*S*H (TV Series) (written by - 18 episodes, 1973 - 1983) (story by - 1 episode, 1980) (teleplay by - 1 episode, 1980) 1975 We'll Get By (TV Series) (co-producer) Hide - Our Finest Hour (1978) ...

(special thanks) Hide 2005-2015 The View (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2015 Made in Hollywood (TV Series) Himself 2012-2014 The Colbert Report (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2011-2014 The Talk (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2014 HuffPost Live Conversations (TV Series) Himself 2014 On the Money (TV Series) Himself 2013 Homeward Bound Telethon (TV Movie) Himself 2013 CBS News Sunday Morning (TV Series documentary) Himself - Guest 1998-2013 Charlie Rose (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2012 CBS This Morning (TV Series) Himself 2011 Janela Indiscreta (TV Series) Himself 2010 The Human Spark (TV Series documentary) Himself - Host 2004-2010 Tavis Smiley (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2009 60 Minutes (TV Series documentary) Himself - Don's Friend 2009 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Himself 1994

-2008 Live!

with Kelly (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2008 Weekend Today (TV Series) Himself 2007 Loose Women (TV Series) Himself 2007 Rachael Ray (TV Series) Himself - Guest - The Secret Canyon (2005) ... Himself - Host - Cybersenses (2005) ... Himself - Host 2006 HARDtalk Extra (TV Series) Himself 2005 The Daily Show (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2005 ABC News Nightline (TV Series) Himself 2005 Showbiz Tonight (TV Series) Himself 2004 History vs.

Hollywood (TV Series documentary) Himself 2004 Emmy's Greatest Moments (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2003 CBS at 75 (TV Special documentary) Himself 1997-2003 Biography (TV Series documentary) Himself 2002 TV Tales (TV Series) Himself 1998 CBS: The First 50 Years (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1996 Playing Doctor (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1993 Intimate Portrait (TV Series documentary) Himself 1990 Larry King Live (TV Series) Himself - Guest 1986 Hour Magazine (TV Series) Himself 1984 Sunday Night Live (TV Movie) Himself - Host 1981 Making 'M*A*S*H' (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1979 Good Morning America (TV Series) Himself - Guest 1978 CBS: On the Air (TV Mini-Series documentary) Co-host - part III 1977 CBS Galaxy (TV Special) Himself - Guest Himself - Nominee: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Presenter 1975 Dinah!

(TV Series) 1975 Sammy and Company (TV Series) Himself 1973-1975 The $10,000 Pyramid (TV Series) Himself - Celebrity Contestant 1973 Jack Paar Tonite (TV Series) Himself 1972 What's My Line? (TV Series) Himself - Panelist 1965-1968 The Match Game (TV Series) Himself - Team Captain 1968 NET Festival (TV Series documentary) Narrator 1968 Snap Judgment (TV Series) Himself 2015 The Seventies (TV Series documentary) Himself - Actor 2010 60 Minutes (TV Series documentary) Himself - Friend 2008 President Hollywood (TV Movie documentary) Senator Arnold Vinick (uncredited) 2005 Corazón de... (TV Series) Himself 2004 Broadway: The American Musical (TV Mini-Series documentary) Himself 2004 Michael Moore, el gran agitador (TV Short documentary) U.S.

President 2003 The Award Show Awards Show (TV Special documentary) Himself 1995 Biography (TV Series documentary) Himself Lt. j.g. Morton Krim (uncredited) Related Videos TV commercial: IBM computers See more » Publicity Listings: 1 Biographical Movie | 3 Print Biographies | 2 Interviews | 9 Articles | 2 Pictorials | 4 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Official Sites: Did You Know? Personal Quote: We're lucky that we don't have anybody there just trying to collect the money. There's plenty of money to be had and you can get the same amount by doing junk every week. By just showing up. But you also lose your soul. What's the pleasure in losing your self-esteem, your dignity? See more » Trivia: He did not sign on to play Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972) until 6 hours before filming began on the pilot episode. See more » Trademark: His films often reflect his liberal political views See more » Star Sign: M*A*S*H: Where Are They Now? - ABC News ABC News M*A*S*H: Where Are They Now?

By JENNIFER ABBEY Feb. 28, 2013 20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images Thirty years ago today, the world said good night to Hawkeye Pierce, Hotlips Houlihan, B.J. Hunnicut, Col. Potter, Winchester and Clinger for the last time. Inspired by the 1970 Robert Altman film of the same name, M*A*S*H premiered Sept. 17, 1972, and followed the staff of a hospital in South Korea during the Korean War. Its stars included Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, McLean Stevenson, Jamie Farr, Wayne Rogers and Harry Morgan. M*A*S*H struggled in the ratings during its first season and was nearly cancelled. But the show went on to win eight Golden Globes, six People's Choice Awards and 14 Emmys. When it signed off, on Feb. 28, 1983, it set a record for the most-watched show in TV history. The series finale was seen by 105.97 million viewers, a record that stood until the 2010 Super Bowl telecast.

Click through to see what the cast of the show has been up to since then: 20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images; Robin Marchant/Getty Images Alan Alda Alan Alda played army surgeon Benjamin Franklin Pierce, better known as "Hawkeye Pierce," on M*A*S*H. The 77-year-old actor has a full and successful career starring in several television series, including "The West Wing" and "ER," and films such as "What Women Want" and "The Aviator," for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Alda has also starred in several Broadway plays including "Art" and "QED." He is also a wildly successful writer. He has written two memoirs. The first was "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed," and the audio version of his second, "Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself," was nominated for a Grammy award. The actor also has a love of science. In 2009, he helped found the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York and created the Flame Challenge, which challenges scientists to communicate efficiently with the public.

Alda is married to children's book author Arlene Alda, and they have three children. 20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images; Joe Corrigan/Getty Images Loretta Swit Loretta Swit played nurse Margaret "Hotlips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H. She was nominated for four Golden Globes for her role and won two Emmys. The 75-year-old actress starred in several made-for-TV movies after M*A*S*H ended, including the romantic comedy, "14 Going on 30" and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." She also wrote a book on needlepoint in 1986. Swit married Dennis Holahan in 1983, but they divorced in 1995. Harry Morgan On M*A*S*H, Harry Morgan starred as Col. Potter, a firm but kindly man in charge. He was not the first choice to command the fictional hospital. The show, based on a book and film, first went on the air in 1972 with McLean Stevenson as Lt. Col. Blake.

Morgan appeared as an eccentric general in an episode in 1974, and was nominated for an Emmy. The next season he replaced Stevenson, won an Emmy in 1980, and stayed through the finale in 1983 — one of the most-watched entertainment episodes in American television history. "'M*A*S*H' was so damned good," Morgan later said in an interview with the AP. "I didn't think they could keep the level so high." Morgan starred in several television movies including 1988's "14 Going on 30" in which he reunited with his M*A*S*H co-star Swit. In July 1997, Morgan was charged with misdemeanor spousal battery after a confrontation with his wife, Barbara Morgan, at their home. The charges were later dropped after Morgan completed a six-month counseling program for domestic violence and anger management. Morgan died at the age of 96 in 2011. He had three sons, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images; Michael Kovac/FilmMagic/Getty Images Jamie Farr Jamie Farr starred as the cross-dressing soldier Corporal Klinger on M*A*S*H. While he had his share of guest starring roles after the show wrapped, he was known most for his role in the LPGA. The 78-year-old actor hosted the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic golf tournament for 28 years before handing it over to Marathon Petroleum Corporation last month. Farr also tried his hand at Broadway, starring in a revival of "Guys and Dolls." He also wrote two books, his memoir "Just Farr Fun" and a children's book, which he co-wrote with his wife Joy, titled "Hababy's Christmas Eve." 20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images; Amanda Edwards/WireImage/Getty Images Mike Farrell Mike Farrell portrayed B.J. Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H. He went on to star as Dr.

Sydney Hansen's father, Jim, in the television series "Providence," as well as guest starring roles on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Desperate Housewives." Since M*A*S*H ended, the 74-year-old actor has been very involved with human rights issues, including famine, the death penalty and animal rights. In 2001, animal rights group PETA granted him the Humanitarian Award. Farrell is also a lover of motorbiking. In 2000, he bought a BMW 650cc Dakar and traveled around Europe. Farrell still rides to this day. 20th Century-Fox TV/Getty Images; David Livingston/Getty Images David Ogden Stiers David Ogden Stiers joined the cast of "M*A*S*H" in 1977 as the arrogant but charming aristocrat Charles Emerson Winchester III. He was nominated for two Emmys for his role.

In addition to starring in the sitcom, he voiced the characters of a number of Disney movies, including Cogsworth in "Beauty and the Beast," the Archdeacon in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and Ratcliffe in "Pocahontas." In 2009, at age 70, the actor came out, saying, "I am [gay]. Very proud to be so." At the time, the actor said he kept his homosexuality under wraps for years because he feared coming out would hurt his career. Ogden Stiers also added that the flamboyant nature of some of his animated roles contributed to his decision to hide his sexuality. M*A*S*H | Monster M*A*S*H | Fandom powered by Wikia Larry Gelbart with Gene Reynolds Inspired by the 1970 film of the same name and the novel "MASH: A Novel about Three Army Doctors" by Richard Hooker , M*A*S*H was an American television series about a team of medical personnel stationed at the 4077th MASH ( Mobile Army Surgical Hospital ) in Korea during the Korean War.

The series originally aired on CBS from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983, but can still be seen in syndication. The series spanned 11 seasons and 256 episodes [1] and proved to be hugely successful. After its first season, and except for Season 4 when it rated 14th, it was always rated within the top 10. Along the way, it also garnered 14 Emmy Awards (out of 99 nominations) as well as many other accolades for its writers, producers and actors. Contents Edit Although M*A*S*H has been classified as a "situation comedy", it proved to be something quite different. Some critics have referred to it as television's first "dramedy". From the beginning, its producers had intended that it was not to be "Abbott and Costello goes to war". [2] So, like the movie which spawned it, the television series recounted in 26 minute weekly segments the experiences of a group of US Army doctors, nurses and medics as they worked desperately to save the lives of wounded soldiers.

It also depicted how they struggled to cope with the realities and horrors of war. It was these coping efforts--the jocularity in the operation room, the practical jokes they played on one another and their crazy, wholly unmilitary antics which provided the show's comedic elements. But it did not depict war as fun. As journalist Peggy Herz put it, "They did not laugh at war. They laughed to keep the shadows away. War was always with them." [3] The comedic elements of the show carried a darker antiwar message. Some viewers saw the series as a critique of the Vietnam War (still in progress when the series began), rather than the Korean War, given the attitudes of the characters. The show's producers have, however, said that it was really broader, it was about war in general. The dramedy format also proved to be an effective vehicle to expose and satirize pressing social issues of the times. Hence, through its 11-season run, various episodes of M*A*S*H would deal with topics like military bureaucracy, racism, gender bias, homosexuality, alcoholism, drug abuse and so on. But MASH means "mobile" as the staff of the 4077th are constantly reminded.

So just as the characters remained true to their medical mission in spite of the shifting fortunes of war, so the television series, while preserving its unique blend of drama and commentary with comedy, endured many changes through its 11-year run. Mobility: Change in tone Edit One significant shift observed by many viewers as the series progressed was a move from pure comedy to become far more dramatically focused. In the earlier seasons, the show placed most of its emphasis on the "zany" elements, but later focused on more serious topics and character development. However, both the serious and the comedic sides were present throughout. In fact, by Season 3, Peggy Herz had observed that on M*A*S*H, "There is no moralizing or sermonizing--yet it is probably the most moral show on TV." [4] Where viewers have observed that later seasons became more political, often appearing to "preach" to its viewers, this shift has been generally connected with Alan Alda , the main star of the series, taking a more involved role in production, and many of the episodes in which this change is particularly notable were written and/or directed by Alda.

Some fans prefer the more serious and dramatic tone of the later seasons over the more chaotic humor of the early years, but many other fans consider the tonal shift to be an instance of jumping the shark. Nonetheless, it is noted that some of the most highly rated or innovative episodes such as "The Interview" , "Life Time" and "Point of View" came in the later seasons. In "The Interview", a war correspondent interviews the various main characters about their thoughts and feelings. This unique episode, thought to be the best of the entire series, is almost entirely devoid of comedic elements and did not even contain a laugh track. Mobility: Change in characters Edit The show survived many changes in its cast of characters. Of all the starring characters, only Hawkeye (the Chief Surgeon), Major Houlihan (the Head Nurse), Klinger (a cross-dressing corpsman), and Father Mulcahy (the Chaplain) were in the show for its entire run. (Klinger and Mulcahy, were, in fact guest stars for the first few seasons of the show and only elevated to the main cast later.

Henry Blake, the commander of the 4077th, buffoonish as a military superior but a skilled surgeon nonetheless, left when the actor who play him, McLean Stevenson, decided to leave for career advancement reasons. In the final episode of Season 3, "Abyssinia, Henry" , Henry Blake had accumulated enough points to be granted a discharge and was given a fond farewell by the rest of the unit but in the dramatic last scene, it was reported that his plane had been shot down over the Sea of Japan and he was killed. None of the cast (with the exception of Alda, who wrote the scene) knew about that development until a few minutes before Burghoff was told to go in and have Radar report that Blake had died. Up until then, as far as anyone knew, they were going to get a message that Blake had arrived safely home. This development garnered a barrage of angry mail from fans. As a result, the creative team behind "M*A*S*H" pledged that no other characters would leave the show in tragic fashion. Stevenson died in February of 1996 of cardiac arrest.

Trapper John McIntyre, another surgeon, was also written out when actor Wayne Rogers decided to leave the series after the end of Season 3 due to disagreements about his character. He felt that his character was never given any real importance, that all the focus was on Alda's character. Rogers has also mentioned that he was told to sign a "morals clause" on his contract renewal, which he refused to do. Season 4 was thus in many ways a turning point for the entire series. At the beginning of the fourth season, Hawkeye was informed by Radar that Trapper had been discharged while Hawkeye was on leave, and audiences did not see Trapper's departure. At the same time, Colonel Sherman T. Potter (played by Harry Morgan ) was assigned to the unit as commanding officer, replacing Blake, while B.J. Hunnicutt (played by Mike Farrell ) was drafted in as Trapper's replacement. The series, while still having an element of comedy, gradually became more emotionally rounded. Major Houlihan's role continued to evolve during this time; she became much more friendly towards Hawkeye and B.J., and had a falling out with Frank Burns.

She later married an infantry officer based in Tokyo, Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscot ("I could never love anyone who didn't outrank me"), but the union did not last for long. The "Hot Lips" nickname was rarely used to describe her after about the mid-way point in the series. Loretta Swit wanted to leave the series in the 8th season to pursue other acting roles (most notably the part of Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey), but the producers refused to let her out of her contract. However, Swit did originate the Cagney role in the made-for-TV movie which served as the pilot. Larry Linville who played the officious and bureaucratic surgeon Major Frank Burns was frustrated with the lack of development of his character, and decided to leave at the end of Season 5. During the first episode of Season 6, Frank Burns had suffered a breakdown after Margaret's marriage to Donald Penobscott and was transferred stateside with a promotion, all off-camera. Major Charles Emerson Winchester III ( David Ogden Stiers ) was brought in as an antagonist of sorts to the other surgeons, but his relationships with them was not as acrimonious, although he was a more able foil.

Unlike Frank, Winchester did not really care for the Army and was a very highly skilled surgeon whom the others respected professionally. At the same time, as a Boston "blueblood", he was also snobbish, which drove much of his conflict with the other characters. Still, the show's writers would allow Winchester's humanity to shine through such as in his dealings with a young piano player who had partially lost the use of his right hand, or his keeping a vigil with Hawkeye when Hawkeye's father went into surgery 8,000 miles away, or his continuing of a family tradition of anonymously giving Christmas treats to an orphanage. Gary Burghoff ( "Radar" O'Reilly ) was one of two M*A*S*H actors to reprise his role from the movie, and the only main character (the other was G. Wood as "General Hammond"). Like in the film, Radar had an extraordinary ability to detect the arrival of choppers transporting wounded long before anyone else and appeared to have a knack for premonitions. He could usually anticipate orders well enough to recite along as they were given, and kept the business end of the 4077th running extraordinarily smoothly.

Burghoff left the series in 1979, and rather than adding a new character to replace him, the company clerk role was taken up by Jamie Farr as Corporal (later Sergeant) Klinger, whose antics never got him the discharge he wanted. Radar's departure meant Klinger's (and Farr's) role was expanded, his attempts at being discharged were downplayed, and he almost never wore women's clothing anymore. (Klinger even shaped up well enough to get a promotion, and the camp counted on him as a "scrounger", who could obtain nearly anything.) End of the Series: "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" Main article: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen Title card for "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," the series finale to M*A*S*H By Season 10, although still doing very well, the producers, writers and cast were feeling that they were running out of good stories to tell. Harry Morgan , who played Colonel Potter, admitted in an interview that he felt "the cracks were starting to show" by Season 9.

The cast voted (by a majority) to end the series following the Season 10, but CBS and 20th Century Fox offered the actors a shortened eleventh season, permitting an opportunity for the show to have a grand finale. So towards the end of Season 10, the producers and writers began work on the finale, a production effort which just grew and grew. The result was the 2½-hour Goodbye, Farewell and Amen television movie. The finale, which first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983, was written by a large number of collaborators, including series star Alan Alda, who also directed. "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" surpassed the single-episode ratings record that had been set by the Dallas episode that resolved the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger. The episode drew 121.6 million viewers, more than both that year's Super Bowl] and the famed Roots miniseries.

From 1983 until 2010, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" remained the most watched television broadcast in American history, only surpassed in total viewership (but not in Ratings or Share) in February 2010 by the Super Bowl XLIV. [2 ]Even today, it still ranks as 7th (the first 6 are all Superbowls) and so it remains the most watched scripted, non-sports television program ever, a record which is likely to stay given the more fragmented nature of television programming with the advent of cable. The episode's plot chronicles the final days of the Korean War at the 4077th MASH and features several storylines intended to show the war's effects on the individual personnel of the unit, and to bring closure to the series. After the cease-fire goes into effect, the members of the 4077th throw a closing party before taking down the camp for the last time. After tear-filled goodbyes, the main characters go their separate ways, leading up to the iconic final scene of the series.

"Good Bye, Farewell and Amen" was added to the syndication package for the series in 1993 although its length means that it is screened more infrequently than the regular 30-minute episodes. The M*A*S*H series had three spin-offs, the short-lived "AfterMASH", where three of the series' main characters (Sherman Potter, Maxwell Klinger, and Father Mulcahy) are reunited in a midwestern hospital after the war, the more successful Trapper John, M.D. (which a court later ruled was actually a spin-off of the original film ), and an unpurchased television pilot, W*A*L*T*E*R, in which Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (still played by Gary Burghoff) leaves his home town and moves to St Louis to join the police force. The Last Day of Filming Edit Although "Good Bye, Farewell and Amen" was the last M*A*S*H installment to be broadcast, it was filmed at the beginning of Season 11. The last episode to be produced was actually "As Time Goes By" .

In this episode the 4077th M*A*S*H personnel bury a time capsule with items symbolizing their lives and experiences during the war. In the process, they also decide to bury any past enmities they may have had. The filming day of filming for that episode was a major event and extensively covered on media. Excerpts of this can be seen on the documentary Memories of M*A*S*H and also on the DVD set. Alan Alda, in his book Never Have Your Dog Stuffed recounts a bittersweet ending to the M*A*S*H story. Just like in the episode "As Time Goes By", the cast actually buried a time capsule on the set filled with mementoes in the hopes that it would be found many years after the series ended. This plan was thwarted when 20th Century Fox sold the land shortly thereafter. A construction worker found the capsule soon after the sale and thought that the cast would want it back. When he tried to return it to them, Alan Alda told him to keep it.

[5] [6] Critical Reception Edit At the end of its first season, the show was 46th of 86 in the ratings and was in danger of being cancelled. CBS responded by moving the show to Saturday night, between hits All in the Family and Mary Tyler Moore. As a result, M*A*S*H would end the next nine of ten seasons in the top ten. Richard Hooker , who wrote the novel that inspired both the film and television versions of MASH, did not like the TV series based on his book, and in particular, he did not like the way Alan Alda played Hawkeye. Robert Altman , who directed the film, also greatly disliked the series, complaining that what his film accomplished through subtle humor the TV series assaulted with loud, obvious speeches, thus defeating the purpose of depicting people acting absurdly to stay sane against an insane setting. Narrative format Main article: M*A*S*H TV series narrative formats Unlike other sitcoms which were usually filmed live on a sound stage before a studio audience, M*A*S*H was filmed either at the Fox Ranch or on Stage 9 in the Fox Studios.

This allowed the directors and screenwriters to experiment with various narrative formats which were quite rare and considered highly innovative in its time. Examples of these include Life Time which depicts the treatment of a critically wounded soldier in real time and Point of View where the camera takes the viewpoint of a wounded soldier all the way from being injured on the battlefield, his evacuation by helicopter to the MASH, his treatment and recovery. The Laugh track Edit The producers wanted the show broadcast without a laugh track, but were overruled by CBS; eventually, as a compromise, the operating room scenes were shown without a laugh track. However, the show as first seen in the United Kingdom was broadcast by the BBC without a laugh track. Later, the Paramount Comedy satellite channel later rescreened the series there in the U.S. version with a laugh track. The DVD releases offer a choice of soundtracks with or without laughter. As the series progressed, Alan Alda and the producers were allowed to produce a number of episodes without laugh tracks. One of the more notable of these episodes is Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler , in which a crew member of a B-29 bomber crew member comes to believe that he is Jesus Christ.

Realism Main article: M*A*S*H and verisimilitude One of the key success factors of M*A*S*H was arguably its realism. As Peggy Herz put it, while M*A*S*H dealt with the horrors of war, viewers found it funny because the people in it were believable. [7] . Many of the plotlines in the series were based on real-life tales and events told by hundreds of real life Korean War veterans, including doctors, nurses, soldiers and helicopter pilots interviewed by the production team. A letter to TV Guide written by a former MASH doctor in about 1973 stated that the most insane jokes and idiotic pranks on the show were the most true to life, including Klinger's cross-dressing. The hellish reality of the MASH units encouraged this behavior out of a desperate need for something to laugh at. (Another former MASHer, though, pointed out later that a habitual cross-dresser wouldn't last long in such a place; real women were too scarce.) Characters like Margaret Houlihan had a real-life counterpart while many MASH veterans could think of different candidates for the real Hawkeye.

Even the caricature-like Frank Burns was thought by war veterans to be the most realistic character because they too had experienced just such "an SOB" in their units. The producers also took great pains to ensure realism in props, using outdoor locations, real military equipment and authentic military and medical terminology. A notable exception, however, is the depiction of Korean guest stars and extras, as they were frequently played by non-Korean Asian actors and frequently spoke Asian languages other than Korean. However realism was also limiting--the Korean War was a short war of only about three and a half years. There was a limit to the number of true accounts available. Burt Metcalfe later admitted that towards the end of the show much of their source material had dried up, with many new interviews only yielding past information, which hurt the show since it was locked in a specific time period. Continuity errors and anachronisms Main articles: Anachronisms in M*A*S*H , Continuity errors in M*A*S*H and The M*A*S*H timeline Despite the emphasis on realism, M*A*S*H did have the occasional anachronism.

And just as there are M*A*S*H fans who delight in compiling the types of bathrobes used, the dresses in the Klinger collection or the view outside Potter's office, there are other fans who delight in tabulating the anachronisms and continuity errors in the series. These efforts are not a criticism of the show but rather demonstrate the devotion and loyalty of the fans who watch and rewatch the episodes countless times to extract every nuance and detail. The existence of anachronisms is not surprising, as the producers never anticipated a run of 11 seasons and no effort was made in the early years to maintain an internal continuity. Writers changed as the series progressed and as Ken Levine pointed out, there was no series bible. Characters Main article: M*A*S*H TV series characters M*A*SH was an ensemble show built around its main cast of up to 8 actors playing the roles of the key staff of the 4077th MASH. Over the years, the series endured many changes in its main cast as some members left. The series producers often experimented by introducing wholly contrasting replacements. For example, McLean Stevenson's Lt.

Colonel Blake , a buffoonish but likable and friendly draftee placed in charge of the M*A*S*H despite a thorough lack of command skill, was replaced by Colonel Potter , a career soldier who nonetheless earned the respect of the draftee doctors in the 4077th. Supporting the main cast was also a large recurring cast who played various doctors, nurses, supporting staff, patients and civilians. Many of these recurring characters became highly recognizable and an important ingredient in the atmosphere of the MASH as a close knit military community. Actresses such as Gwen Farrell and Kellye Nakahara compete with the main cast and probably outnumber some of them in terms of the number of episodes they appeared in. Another important feature of the series was the varied use of guest stars for occasional characters, many of whom were young actors and the beginnings of their careers. A good number of them, like Shelley Long , Ron Howard and Patrick Swayze would go on to carve significant careers on film and television. References

Question: What is the name of Alan Alda’s character in the US tv series M*A*S*H?
Answer: Hawkeye Pierce